Mitten



0. H. BOHNERT.

' 'MITTEN.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-21,1918.

1,400,655 Patented Dec, 20, 1921.

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Gmmmw PATENT orrica.

OTTO H. BOHNERT, 0F WAUWATOSA, WISCONSIN.

MITTEN'.

ioness.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedDec. 2c, 1921.

Application fi led January 21, 1918. Serial No. 212,871.

To aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, O'r'ro H. BOHNER'I, acitizen of the United States, residin at Wauwatosa, county of Milwaukee,and tate of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements inMittens, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in Inittens,with especialreferenceto that class of mittens designed for use by soldiers andothers engaged in military occupations.

The object of my invention is to provide means whereby the wearer mayinstantly project the fore-finger from the mitten, for use in pullingthe trigger of a rifle or for any other purpose, and whereby, when thefinger is retracted within the mltten, the opening will be closed, orsubstantlally closed, and the entire hand protected.

More particularly, my object is to provide a form of mitten for theright hand having a slit extending longitudinally along the forefingerand suitably stitched or reinforced, particularly at the inner end ofthe slit, the slit tending to remain normally closed, but allowing thefinger to be projected through it for free use when occasion requires.

In nearly all cases where the use of mittens interferes with efliciencyin performing manual operations, it is merely necessary to allow a freeand independent'use of the forefinger in order to bring efiicieneysubstantially to a maximum. This is particularly true in the handling ofguns, where it is desirable to protect the hand of the gunner, butnecessary to a proper manipulation of the trigger that the fore-fingershould be free.

In the drawings Figure 1 illustrates my improved mitten in use, with thefore-finger of the user projected.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view drawn on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughoutthe several views.

The palm covering portion A of my improved mitten is provided with aslit B which extends along a line in front of the position normallyoccupied by the fore-finger of the user. The outer end of the slitpreferably occupies a position substantially in front of the last joint,the finger tip beyond this joint being normally covered by the unslittedportion of the mitten. The slit may be of any desired length, sufficientto permit a free manipulation of the finger when projected through it,as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The back of the mitten, thumbportion, and wrist portion may all be of any ordinary construction.

If desired, the mitten may be provided with a flap E to cover the slitwhen the finger is retracted. Where such a flap is to be used, it ispreferably employed as a liner flap, and may be conveniently secured tothe finger covering portion along the outer side of the fore-finger. Itwill be noted that the imperforate back portion and the palm portion arejoined along gradually curving lines, and that the flap E is securedalong such lines. This curved line of attachment of the flap tends toautomatically hold the flap in a position to close the slit. In caseswhere the palm and back portions are stitched together, the margin ofthe flap E may be interposed and used as a welt, the.v

flap projecting inwardly from this margin across the slit B, as shown inthe drawings. This flap may be normally adjusted between the finger ofthe user and the slit B, but in case an emergency threatens the fingermay be adjusted in front of the flap, which then becomes interposedbetween the finger and the back of the mitten, where it will, in no way,interfere with an'instant manipulation of the finger through theopening.

It will, of course, be understood that the finger can be projectedthrough the slit by merely bending the tip of the finger forwardly untilit can be pushed through the opening, although, if desired, the slit maybe shortened or formed so near to the palm that it will be necessary topartially draw the mitten from the hand before projecting the finger.But I prefer'to so locate the slit, that by merely manipulating thefinger itself, it can be readily projected.

If desired, the sides or margins of the slit may be suitably reinforcedby stitching or otherwise, whereby the sides will tend to close uponeach other when the finger is re tracted. This permits the slit frombecoming a mere open hole in the finger portion of the mitten.

I claim A mitten comprising apalm portion having a relatively short slitin line with the forefinger of the wearer, a back portion joined theretoalong a gradually curving line, and an interior flap joined to themitten lation of its free end by the fore'finger of the along'saidgradually curving line and norwearer. I 10 mally projecting from :itsattached curved In testimony WhereO-fI afiix my signature edge betweenthe slit and forefingerof the -in the presence of two witnesses.

wearer toward the central pertioneof thei OTTO H. BOHNERT. mitten,whereby the curved attached end of Witnesses: V the flap willautomatically tend to'keep said MARKPLAUTZ, flap across said slit Whileallowingmanipu- W. BALDREDGE.

